1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a cargo rack assembly which is intended to be supported upon a vehicle or the like and, more particularly, a cargo rack assembly which is retractable to facilitate loading and unloading thereof.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is commonly known to provide a cargo rack on the roof of a vehicle such that luggage or other cargo can be secured on the rack instead of requiring the cargo to be placed within passenger space of the vehicle. Such racks commonly found on the marketplace today generally comprise only a pair of spaced rails secured to the roof of the vehicle. Cargo can be placed between the rails and secured thereto by a rope or other fastening members. These types of cargo racks present a loading problem, particularly when the items to be placed thereon are extremely heavy or bulky, since the items have to be completely lifted to a position between the rails. This problem is amplified with larger vehicles, such as suburbans, vans, RV's, etc., wherein the roofs of the vehicles are at a height which makes loading and unloading of the cargo particularly difficult.
Additional cargo carriers or racks that can be repositioned from a position atop a vehicle to a lower, loading/unloading position and which can be retracted again to a position atop the vehicle for transport purposes have also been proposed in the prior art as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,765,940, 2,828,035 and 3,531,006. Unfortunately, such retractable cargo rack assemblies have not been successful in today's marketplace. This fact is mainly attributable to the particular construction of such cargo racks, their associated costs of manufacture and loading/unloading characteristics associated therewith. For instance, cargo racks constructed in the manner set forth in accordance with the '035 Patent identified above, assume a substantially vertical loading/unloading position. Not only does the particular orientation of the rack in the loading/unloading position mandate the manner in which cargo items must be loaded or unloaded, generally the distribution of weight of the cargo will be uneven in order to prevent the weight of heavy objects from bearing upon lighter items. In addition, the cargo rack must be manually moved to its associated transport position atop the vehicle which effectively constrains the amount of weight that can be placed thereon.
Some of the disadvantages associated with the cargo rack assembly disclosed in the '035 Patent are overcome in the luggage carrier arrangement disclosed in the above-identified '006 Patent. For example, in the '006 Patent, a crank mechanism is provided to aid in retracting the cargo rack. In addition, in the loading/unloading position, the cargo rack assumes a substantially horizontal position which greatly facilitates loading and unloading thereof. Unfortunately, the construction of the luggage carrier in this patent requires an extensive framework that extends not only atop the vehicle but also down the entire rear side thereof. Therefore, not only is this luggage carrier arrangement aesthetically unappealing, it limits access to the rear of the vehicle. This, of course, would be extremely disadvantageous in some circumstances, such as if the rear of the vehicle includes a door or access window.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a retractable cargo rack assembly which is aesthetically appealing, economical to manufacture and which is constructed to facilitate loading and unloading thereof.